The Three-Penny Opera (Die Dreigroschenoper)

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Complete Score Sung in German by Siars of the Vienna Op

“An authentic performance, such as this one, gives the opera
the aspect of a classic.’”’ John D. Molleson, N.Y. Herald Tribune

HELGE ROSWAENGE
ALFRED JERGER
ROSETTE ANDAY
LIANE

ANNY FELBERMAYER
FREDERICK GUTHRIE
KURT PREGER

HEDY FASSLER

Chorus and Orchestra
of the Vienna State Opera
F. CHARLES ADLER, cond

THE THREE-PENNY OPERA

Complete Score

Bertolt Brecht- Kurt Weill

FULL ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS OF ALL THE SONGS AND ENSEMBLES ARE ON A LEAFLET ENCLOSED IN THIS RECORD JACKET

SUNG IN GERMAN

CAST

HELGE ROSWAENGE (Street Crier), KURT PREGER
(MacHeath), ALFRED JERGER (Jonathan Peachum),
ROSETTE ANDAY (Mrs. Peachum), LIANE (Polly Peach-
um), FREDERICK GUTHRIE (Tiger Brown), HEDY

FASSLER (Gin Mill Jenny), ANNY FELBERMAYER
(Lucy)

Chorus and Chamber Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera
F. CHARLES ADLER, conductor

That bitterest of comic operas, “The Three-Penny. Opera,” (Die
Dreigroschenoper) has become a classic precisely because it cap-
tured to such perfection a crucial moment of modern history. In the
Germany of the 1920’s, as the novelist Theodore Plivier caustically
pointed out, “The Kaiser had gone but the generals remained.” The
Weimar Republic, Germany’s first democratic constitutional govern-
ment, was being sapped at its foundations by, on the one hand, grow-
ing unemployment, poverty and misery; on the other hand, sabotage
by the big armament trusts like the Krupps, the banks, and the Junker
generals who still ran the military establishment. Political lines were
sharply drawn, with the satiric theatre flourishing. Its great genius
was Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) who became one of the germinal
figures in modern drama. His musical collaborator was Kurt Weill
(1900-1950) who had been an opera coach, theatre music director,
and student of Busoni. Their first joint effort was “The Rise and Fall
of the City of Mahagonny,” produced in 1927. Then in 1928 came
“The Three-Penny Opera,” which made a success all over Germany.
Yet the call to the German people to awake to the moral and social
corruption about them was unavailing. Five years later, the “Third
Reich” set up by the trusts and generals under the facade of Hitler’s
fascist demagogy brutally crushed any social criticism, whether in
politics or the arts. In the meantime, however, “The Three-Penny
Opera” had been produced in translation in Poland, Holland, Den-
mark, Hungary, Russia, France, England and (in 1933) in the United
States.

Brecht’s libretto was an adaptation of John Gay’s “The Beggars’
Opera,” produced in England in 1728. Brecht retained the 18th cen-
tury English setting, but the brilliance of his lines made the connec-
tion to-his own Germany unmistakeable. Weill’s score, presented here
complete, deliberately took the raw material of German “cabaret jazz”
and transformed it to the level of high expressionistic art.

There are different kinds of “classic” performances of “The Three-
Penny Opera.” One tries to be as close as possible to the spirit of the
Berlin theatre of the 1920’s. Another, quite different, is that of Marc
Blitzstein’s adaptation, produced in New York in the 1950’s. The one
recorded here is in the spirit of the Vienna State Opera and Volksoper,
or light opera, which interchange singers and instrumentalists. Its out-
standing. characteristic, along with the feeling for the German text,
with its biting irony, is the collection of magnificent voices, which
throw new light upon and give new stature to Kurt Weill’s music. It
is safe to say that never, at least in recording, has’ this music been

e .

so gloriously sung. Thus the Prologue, the Street Crier’s “Ballad of
Mackie the Knife,” is sung by the world-famous Danish Heldentenor,
Helge Roswaenge. The rich contralto of Rosette Anday was celebrated
in opera and oratorio, and the baritone Alfred Jerger sang leading
roles in Richard Strauss’ operas. The soprano, Anny Felbermayer and
the American-born bass, Frederick Guthrie, were featured performers
in the post-war resurgence of the Vienna opera. F. Charles Adler
conducted the Dusseldorf Opera in the 1920’s, gave performances of
“The Three-Penny Opera,” and conducted the Berlin State Radio or-
chestra and opera, coming to the United States when Hitler made
Germany untenable for him.

After the Overture, No. 1 of the score, the Street Crier is seen
walking across the stage, introducing the “anti-hero” of the play, the
crook and cutthroat MacHeath, with No. 2, The Ballad of Mackie
the Knife. The Act I curtain rises on the emporium of Jonathan
Peachum, the enterprising magnate who has made beggary in London
into an organized business. We see him giving phony broken limbs,
bandages and ragged clothes to applicants and assigning them to vari-
ous routes. He gives them advice in No. 2, the Morning Chorale. Mrs.
Peachum then enters, speaking her worries over the fact that their
daughter, Polly, instead of remaining in the circle of respectable dis-
honesty, seems to have fallen in love with the notorious highwayman,
MacHeath. No. 4, The “Instead Of’ Duet expresses the Peachums’
exasperation with such romantic nonsense.

The scene changes to a stable in Soho where Polly, MacHeath
and his trusty thugs are celebrating the wedding. The lads entertain
with No. 5, Wedding Song, and Polly adds to the festivity with No. 6,
The Song of Jenny the Pirate. The Chief of Police, Tiger Brown,
enters to give his congratulations, and he and MacHeath sing No. 7,
Army Duet in Canon, of when they were buddies in uniform. The
scene ends with Polly and MacHeath expressing their devotion in
No. 8, Love Duet.

The last scene of the first act is devoted to the generations con-
flict at the Peachum’s emporium. Polly tells of her love in No. 9,
Barbara Song. The astonished parents suggest a quick. divorce, and
when Polly still seems to retain some romantic moonshine, they decide
that as respectable, influential citizens they can pressure the Police
Chief, Tiger Brown, into arresting MacHeath. This is despite the fact
that Brown had been the best man at the wedding. The three Peachums
collectively express their philosophy in No. 10, Act I Finale—Trio.

Act IL opens with Polly entering MacHeath’s Soho stable head-
quarters, telling him that her parents had forced Tiger Brown’s hand,
and that he, MacHeath, had better flee for his life. Appointing Polly
the substitute head of his ring of thieves, MacHeath and Polly sing
a tender farewell, No. 11, Farewell Duet. The following scene is Gin
Mill Jenny’s brothel, where MacHeath enters for refuge, not knowing
that Jenny, one of his old loves, has already been hired by Mrs.
Peachum to spy on him. She has already called the police when she
and MacHeath sing their ballad of nostalgic love memories, No. 12,
Tango Duet. The police enter and MacHeath jumps out of the win-
dow, only to find more police outside prodded by Mrs. Peachum.

SRV-273 SD
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The next scene is Old Bailey, where MacHeath, behind bars, is
planning to bribe his way out. Brown enters with profuse apologies,
but Mackie is sternly unforgiving. He expresses his philosophy of life
in his “shimmy” song, No. 13, Ballad of the Easy Life. Lucy, Mac-
Heath’s previous wife, comes on the scene and attacks him bitterly.
But she is equally bitter at Polly when Polly enters, each woman
claiming MacHeath for her own, in No. 14, Jealousy Duet. (Polly’s
part in this number is sung by Hedy Fassler). Peachum comes in to
drag out the protesting Polly, and Lucy then bribes the constables,
who let MacHeath escape. The conscience-stricken Tiger Brown is
greatly relieved at this, but Peachum, returning, threatens to use his
army of beggars to ruin both’ the forthcoming Queen’s coronation
parade and Brown’s career. The curtain falls, and there is a symbolic
scene closing the second act. MacHeath and Mrs. Peachum explain
how each in his or her own way disdains the moral hypocrisy of offi-
cial society, in No. 15, Act II Finale—Duet with Chorus.

Act III opens in Peachum’s establishment. Gin Mill Jenny is
refused her informer’s fee, but inadvertently discloses MacHeath’s
present hiding place. He begins to plan his huge parade of beggars
and cripples to coincide with the Queen’s coronation parade. Tiger
Brown rushes in to arrest Peachum and stop this, but Peachum ex-
plains that respectable citizens like himself always keep their connivery
within the law, and sings his “practicality” song, No. 16, Song of the
Futility of Human Strivings. He explains that even if he and his beg-
gars are arrested, there are enough poor, miserable and starving
people in London to make the coronation celebration a farce, and tells
Brown where he can arrest MacHeath. Brown sadly goes off to do
this. In a symbolic interlude, Gin Mill Jenny sings her song of how
the great men of history have fallen, culminating in MacHeath; No.
17, Song of Solomon.

We are then back in Old Bailey, with MacHeath, behind bars
again, discovering that this time, since he is a needed victim, all his
previous methods of escape no longer serve him and all his accom-
plices have deserted him. Despairingly he asks for pity, in No. 18,
MacHeath’s Cry from the Shadow of the Grave. The scene changes
to the streets, where MacHeath is led out to be hanged, before a
crowd that would rather see this than the coronation parade, which
is going on at the same time. MacHeath, protesting that it is the re-
spectable thieves who own banks that are hanging petty thieves like
himself, offers his last testament, in No. 19, Letter from the Grave.
The noose is made ready for MacHeath’s neck, but this being a comedy,
it must have a happy ending. At the last moment rescue comes in the
person of a special messenger from the Queen. In the spirit of her
coronation she has given Mackie not only a reprieve but also a title
of nobility, a castle and a life pension. The proper conclusions are
drawn by MacHeath, Polly, Brown, Mr. and Mrs. Peachum, and the
people, in No. 20, Finale, Quintet and Chorus.

—wNotes by S. W. Bennett

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THE THREE-PENNY
OPERA

, ML. Die Dreigroschenoper)

eae by Kurt Weill

Libretto by Bertolt Breelit wv

Sung in German ¢

Street Crier HELGE ROSWAENGE

Jonathan Peachum ALFRED JERGER
Gin Mill Jenny
Polly Peachum
Macheath

Hepy FASSLER

Mrs. Peachum
ANNY FELBERMAYER
FREDERICK GUTHRIE

Chorus and Chamber Orchestra
of the Vienna State Opera

F. CHARLES ADLER, conductor

1. OVERTURE

2. PROLOGUE—
STREET CRIER’S (AUSRUFER’S)
BALLAD OF MACKIE THE KNIFE

Like the shark’s teeth, kept hidden in his mug,
Macheath has a knife, but he keeps it where no eyes
can see it. On a bright sunny Sunday people will
stumble over a dead body in the street, while someone
vanishes around the corner, and they will know that
Mackie the Knife was in the neighborhood. A lad
with money-lined pockets will disappear, as will other
well-heeled big operators. Their gold is in the pock-
ets of Mackie the Knife, but nobody can prove it.
A young girl was found with a knife between her
ribs. Along the waterfront walks Mackie, innocent
as a lamb. And there was the big fire in Soho, with
seven children and an old man trapped, and Mackie
the Knife looking on with the crowd, asking no ques-
tions and knowing nothing at all. And that under-age
widow, whose name everyone knows, who woke up
to find herself assaulted — Mackie, what price did
you get?

ACT I

3. MR. JONATHAN PEACHUM’S
MORNING CHORALE
Wake up, you scarecrow Christs! Add some new
sins to your balance sheet, show what expert scoun-
drels you are, and the Lord will bless you! Inform
on your brother, you blackguard! Sell your wife,
you cheap crook. The Lord gave you air to breathe,
and you will get your reward at the Last Judgment.

4. MR. AND MRS. PEACHUM’S
“INSTEAD OF” SONG

MR. P. — Instead of staying at home in a warm
bed, she has to go out and have fun, as if some man
will give her a load of gifts.

MRS. P. — She’s taken with that moon over
Soho, and that damn “Can you feel my throbbing
heart” line; she’s taken with that old refrain,
“Where you go, Johnny, that’s where I'll go,’ when
love softens the brain and the moon looks down.

MR. P. — Instead of acting like a sensible person
with a purpose in life, she has to go out and have

fun. Shell end up kicking tthe bucket in some
gutter.
BOTH — Phat is L the moon over Soho

Who needs $

She’s taken with . i
hie iyo s that damn ‘“‘Can you

feel my throbbing heart” line
That is U
Who needs §
go, Johnny, that’s where I'll go”
When love softens the brain and the moon looks
down.

the old refrain, “Where you

5. WEDDI SONG FOR POLLY
AND MACHEATH, BY THE BOYS
Bill Lawgen and Mary Syer were hitched ma
and wife last Wednesday. (Long may they live
hooray!) But when they were standing before the
marriage clerk, he didn’t know where she had-pi
up her wedding dress, and she didn’t even /know his

more honest than the rest? No! Hooray!
Lawgen says to me, a little bit her is @

me. That swine! Hooray!

6. POLLY’S SONG OF JE E PIRATE

My masters, now you see mé washing glasses and\*+}}
making the beds for all comers, and you tip m¢ with
‘a_penny and | thank you with a-smile, and you look |
dt my rags and this broken down hotel, and :
haven't got the faintest idea of the person you\are
talking to. But one evening a call will come from _
the harbor, and people will ask, who is that calling? ~
And they will see me chuckling over my glasses, \and
they will ask me, what's the joke? And a ship wit
Add
>

eh ae ae fifty cannons will sail u
/“Someone wt af “Wipe your glasses, dea

child,” and will hand out a penny. And I will take
the penny and will make up the bed, but there will
be no sleep for anyone that night, and you still/
won’t have a glimmer of whom I am. Then one
evening there will be a shot heard at the harbor, and

will see me at my window, and will ask, “Why tha’
wicked laughter?” And the ship with eight white
sails and fifty cannons will be bombarding the town.

And at noon a hundred armed men will land
and search every nook and corner, arrest everybo
break down every door, put them all in chains, drag
them before me and ask, “Which shall we rub out?”
And that noon, the harbor will be hushed and still.
while people ask, “Which are going to die?” An
then they will hear me say, “Every one!” And whe
heads fall, I will say, “Hovop-la!” And the ship with
eight white sails and fifty cannons will take off wi
me and disappear.

7. DUET IN CANON, OF MACHEATH
AND BROWN

M. — John was around and Jim was nearby
B. — And Georgie got his sergeant’s stripes. M. —
For the army doesn’t ask anybody his family tree
B. — But marches him off to the north hills. BOTH
— Soldiers live at the cannon’s mouth, from the
Cape to Couch Behar.

B. — When it rains cats and dogs, M. — And
they come across some strange tribe, B. — Brown
face or pale face, BOTH — They can chop them up
into hamburgers. M. — Johnny tried to warm up the
whiskey, B. — And Jimmy was shivering under his
blankets, M. — So Georgie took them both by the
arm B. — And said the army goes on forever. BOTH
— Soldiers live at the cannon’s mouth, from the
Cape to Couch Behar.

M. — John is a corpse and Jim’s in his grave
B. — And Georgie is missing with a screw loose in
his head, M. — But blood still flows red B. — And
the army still calls for red-blooded men. BOTH —
Soldiers live at the cannon’s mouth, from the Cape
to Couch Behar.

8. LOVE DUET OF MACHEATH AND POLLY

M. — Do you see the moon rising over Soho?
P. — I see it, sweetheart. Do you feel my throbbing
heart. M. — I feel it, sweetheart. P. — Where you

go, that’s where I'll go. M. — And wherever you are,
that’s where Ill be. BOTH — And there is no mar-
riage clerk’s license, and there is no flower-covered
altar, and I don’t know where the wedding dress
came from, and there are no myrtle wreaths in your
hair. The plate from which you eat your bread,
don’t look at it for long, throw it away. Love lasts
or it doesn’t, with one person or another, here or in
\some other place.

9. POLLY’S BARBARA SONG

Once upon a time, when I was young and inno-
cent — that’s thea way I was once, just like you — I
believed that the right man would come along some
day, and then I knew what I would have to do. If
he had well-lined pockets, and if he kept neat and
wore a clean collar even on weekdays, then I would
coyly start by saying, “No.” And so he would remain
a fish in water, and everything would be as they say
in the books. It is as sure as that the moon shines

_ all night, as sure as a boat made fast to the dock,

De. (Ss len

people will ask, “What's the shooting about?” eal

x *
1 f a Ls}
Bis f

but that’s as far as it goes. Yes, and if a man can’t
t himself to this, he has to lie cold and loveless;
es, since so many things may otherwise happen, the
main thing is to start with, ‘‘No!”

The first who came was a man from Kent, who was
everything a man should be. The second had three
ships in the harbor, and the third was crazy about
And since they had well-filled pockets, and
hemselves neat, and wore clean collars on

s-Ltold them “No!” And so 1 kept my head
-q\water und everything was as they say in the
ATS Jt is as sure as the moon shines all night, as
sure) as a boat made fast to the dock, but that’s as
urjus it gdes. Yes. and if @ man cart fit himself
i he must lie cold and loveless; yes since

SRV-273 SD

with “No!”

mone day, and it was a nice bright day,
nan came along who didn’t ask me anything. He
st hung his hat on the nail in my room; and what
Wid aftet | can’t remember. And although he had
empty pockets, and was everything but neat, and
didn’t even wear a clean collar on Sunday, and he
didn’t behuve like a gentleman in front of a lady, I
idn’t say\ ‘No’? And so I didn’t keep my head
above water, and nothing was as they say in the

Ah, the moon may still shine all night, ah, the
oat has broken away from the dock, and it cart
happen any other way. Yes, people simply have to
t themselves to this, and ah, people can’t stay cold
nd loveless. Ah, since so many things just have to

”

ee it is true I couldn’t make myself say “No!

j 10. FIRST ACT FINALE —
POLLY AND MR. AND MRS. PEACHUM

POLLY — What my heart cries for, is it too
much? One bright moment in a rotten life, a man
gives himself to me. Is that too much to hope for?

MR. P. — The one right a person has on this
earth, where life is so short, is to be happy, to take

art in all the pleasures of life, to get bread to eat

and not a stone, This is a person’s plain right on
this earth. But sad to say, it has up to now never
been very noticeable that what should happen is
what happens. Who wouldn't be happy to get what
he is entitled to? But that’s not the way the world
shapes up.

MRS. P. — How happy I would be to give you
the best. Everything your little heart wishes, | would
give to you, whatever you want from life, I would
give you with pleasure.

MR. P. — To live a good life? Yes, who would
not be happy ta do this? Give your last shirt to the
poor? Why not? If everyone were to become decent,
His Kingdom would not be far away. Who would
not want to share in the radiance of celestial light?
To be a good man? Sure, who would not be over-
joyed? But sad to say, on these planets, supplies
are short and life is hard. Who would not want to
live in peace and harmony? But that’s not the way
the world shapes up.

POLLY AND MRS. P. — It is true, sad to say,
the way he puts it, the world is poor and men are
a sorry lot.

MR. P. — Naturally, it’s true the way I put it,
the world is poor and men are a sorry lot. Who
wouldn’t want to see a paradise on earth? But the
shape of the world, what does it tell your? — an
emphatic no! It gives you nothing! Your brother
may hang on every word you say, but let there be
no meat enough for two, and he'll kick you in the
face. To live a steady life? Who would not want
this? And your wife, who hangs on every word you
say, let her love go elsewhere, and she'll kick you
in the face. And be grateful? Who would not
want to be that? And your child, who hangs on
every word you say, if you can’t support him in your
old age, he will kick you in the face. And be grate-
ful? Who would not want to be that?

POLLY AND MRS. P. — It sure is a pity that
this is so, he’s got the right line, the world is poor
and people are a sorry lot.

MR. P. — Naturally, it is true, sad to say, the
way I put it. The world is poor and people are a
sorry lot. Who would be good instead of cunning?
The shape of the world says it can’t be so.

THE THREE PEACHUMS — That's the way
things are, everything is rotten. The world is poor
and people are a sorry lot. It sure is a pity for

that’s the right line, it’s the way things are, and

everything is rotten,

ACT II

11. FAREWELL DUET OF
POLLY AND MACHEATH
Love lasts or it doesn’t, with one person or an-
other, here or in some other place.

12. TANGO BALLAD OF JENNY
2 THE COURTESAN, AND
HER PROTECTOR, MACHEATH
M. — There was a time, which now is just a
memory, when we lived so happily together, she end
I. That time has vanished like a- puff of smoke. I
gave her protection and she gave me love. Things
can happen differently, but they happen this way too.
And when a suitor showed up, I crawled out of bed,
took a snifter of Kirsch, and behaved like a gentle-
man, and when he paid, I said to him, “‘Sir, whenever
you want to come back, the door is open.” In this
way we spent a happy half year, in the bordello
where we set up house.

J. — In that time, which now is just a memory,
he was my friend, | was a young girl. And if cash
got short, he would turn to me with a demand, ‘Dear,
Pll have to pawn your ring:’ It was a good ring, a
kind that doesn’t turn up every day. Once in a while
I gave him an argument, and told him he was carry-
ing this stuff a little too far, and he wauld show his
sharks teeth, and because of him I last my good
health. Life was so pleasant in that half year, in
the bordello where we set up house.

13. MACHEATH’S BALLAD OF
THE EASY LIFE

They praise the lives of great men who lived by
books and forgot their stomachs, keeping their
“minds free” in some shack where rats crawled.
can’t keep my machine working on that fuel! A
simple life on an empty stomach! I’ve had enough
of that stuff, no sparrow from here to Babylon would
take that fare for a single day. What good is free-
dom, if there is no comfort? Who has the funds
lives easy. Famous heroes who lived the adventurous
life are just asking permission to trade their skin
on the market-place. They stand for the free mind
and they tell the truth, and all the little pip-squeaks
drool over their bravery; then we see them on some
freezing evening going with their cold wives to bed,
and they listen for a good word from somebody, but’
nobody talks about them, nobody understands them,
and their eyes ure miserably fixed on fame five
thousand years away. Now I ask you, is that com-
fort?. Bho has the funds lives easy. Sure, I myself
had that pipe-dream, to live like a great thinker and
not have a shirt on my back, but I saw people like
that at close hand, and then I said to myself, Pll
give that up with pleasure! Poverty brings trouble
without wisdom, and bravery brings disasters with-
out fame. Now you can be poor and lonesome, high-
minded and brave, tmitate the great heroes as much
as you want. But if you want to know how to have
a happy life, take my advice; who has the funds
lives easy.

14. JEALOUSY DUET OF LUCY AND POLLY

L. — Come into the light, you Soho glamour
girl, let’s see your beautiful legs. I also like to
look at pretty limbs, which you fondly think have
no rival. And so you're hoping to make an impres-
sion on my Mackie! P. — I’m hoping? I’m hoping?
L. — Well, you really have me in stitches. P. — You
think that’s funny? Think that’s funny? L. — Ha,
it really is a joke. P. — And that to you is a joke!
L. — As if Mackie would really fall for you! P. —
As if Mackie would really fall for me? L. — Ha,
ha, ha, ha, ha, who would bother to pick up some-
thing like that! P. — That remains to be seen. L. —
Yes, that remains to be seen. P. — And we'll see
about it pretty soon. L. — Sure, we'll see about it
pretty soon. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. BOTH —
Mackie and I, we lived like two love-birds, I was
his only love, and no body-snatcher will grab him.
There’s no worry in my mind, I was his only love, and
there’s no danger from some slimy creature that
shows her face. What a joke!

~ 15. ACT If FINALE —
MACHEATH, MRS. PEACHUM AND CHORUS
M. — You gentlemen preach to us that honesty
is the best policy. Stay clear of sin and crookedness,

you say. First tell us how to fill our stomachs, then
you can talk, that’s how to begin. You who have a
great time getting fat while we stay honest, learn
a lesson, once and for all; no matter how you twist
and turn, no matter what you’re shooting at, first
come the eats and then the moralizing. First the
people who have nothing must get a slice of your
loaf of bread.

Mrs. P. — You piously tell us when a woman
will lift her petticoats and. turn her eyes modestly
inward. First tell us how to fill our stomachs, then
you can talk, that’s how to begin. You who have
your fling while we play second fiddle, learn a
lesson once and for all; no matter what you’re shoot-
ing at, no matter how you twist and turn, first come
the eats and then the moralizing. First the people
who have nothing must get a slice of your loaf of
bread. ;

CROWD — On what does a person live?

M. and Mrs. P. — On what does a person live?
A person lives in misery, crawls, strangles, tortures
himself every day and every hour. A man can keep
alive only by giving up any glimmer of thought that
he is a human being.

CROWD — You gentlemen, keep this in mind.
A man can only live through being crooked.

ACT III

16. PEACHUM EXPLAINS THE FUTILITY
OF HUMAN STRIVINGS

A man has to live by using his head, but the
head is far from enough. Just try it, and you'll find
that the best your head can be is a home for lice.
This life needs cunning, and a man isn’t cunning
enough, he can’t see through every fake and phony.
This life needs depravity, and a man isn’t depraved
enough, with always a sneaking hope that his striv-
ings for the higher life will take him to a primrose
path. Sure, chase after happiness, but don’t run too
hard, for everybody is chasing after happiness, and
happiness is limping far to the rear. For this life
you have to blow your own horn, but a man isn’t
immodest enough. And for this reason, when he
strives for the higher life, he’s only kidding himself.

17. JENNY’S SONG OF SOLOMON

Youve heard of Solomon the Wise, and what
happened to him. He saw through man clear as a
pane of glass, and from what he saw, he cursed the
day he was born. All is vanity, he said. How great
and wise was Solomon! And this you can see, since
night hasn’t fallen and some light of day is around;
it was wisdom took him off the track — be envious
of those who don’t have any.

You’ve heard of Caesar the brave, and what
happened to him. He sat like a God on his altar,
and he was stabbed to death when he stood up, just
as he had reached the heights of fame. And he cried
out, “Even you, my son!” And this you can see, since
night hasn’t fallen and some light of day is around;
it was bravery took him off the track — be envious
of those who don’t have any.

And now you see Macheath and me. God knows
what will become of us. So great was our passion,
and so we lost our way, and they are sending him to
the gallows. That’s our wages of sin. And this you
can see, since night hasn’t fallen and some light of
day is around; it was our passion took us off the
track — be envious of those who don’t have any.

18. MACHEATH’S CRY FROM THE
SHADOW OF THE GRAVE

Now listen to a voice crying for pity. Macheath
is lying here, not under hawthorne, not under beech
trees, no, in a tomb, in here, dragged down by the
meanness of fate. Even God has pity, and will grant
you permission to pay attention to Mackie’s last
words, while the thick stone walls surround him.
Aren’t you asking friends, where is he? If he is dead,
you can, boil yourself some wine. But if he is alive,
stand by him! Do you want him to be in torture?
Come and look at Mackie, see how he’s smeared with
mud. Now you can see clearly how people got
washed out. You who recognize no authority over
you but your greasy money, remember, you can’t
take it to the grave with you! Here’s what you have
to do, run to. the Queen, take everybody with you,
plead with her about Mackie, tell her how the swine
run about behind his back. Ah, his teeth are falling
out. Do you want him to be in torture?

19. MACHEATH’S LETTER
FROM THE GRAVE

O men and brothers, you who will still be living,
don’t harden your hearts to us, don’t laugh when a
man is hung on the gallows, don’t laugh in your beards
like stupid fools. And don’t run away and don’t
say that this is a pretty sight, don’t be judging me
with anger like the court, we can’t all be law abid-
ing people. You people still alive, forget frivolous
matters, let this be a lesson to you, and pray to God
that he may forgive me. The rain pours down, and
washes us clean, and will wash the skin that I took
care of so tenderly; and now you, who had eyes
for everything and wanted everything you saw, the
ravens will soon be hacking out your eyes. We won't
hang firm forever, we will be rocked and tossed
about, and the vultures will pick our flesh like
horse manure dropped in the road. Ah brothers, take
warning, and pray to God that He may forgive me.
The maidens with their gowns cut low, wiggling to
catch light-minded men, the parasites who follow
them to fish for their wages of sin, you rag-pickers,
whores, procurers, you thiefs and outlaws, associates
of murderers and hangers about water closets, I
beg you to forgive me.

Not so the police hounds, who every evening,
every morning, turn my stomach and make me vomit,
cause so much trouble and misery — and yet now
I can forgive them too, for today I am not looking
for any further business. I beg even them too, to
forgive me. Let people, if they want to, break their
bodies with iron sledgehammers. As for the rest,
I will forget everything, and beg them to forgive me.

20. FINALE OF THE THREE PENNY OPERA
— MR. AND MRS. PEACHUM, POLLY,
MACHEATH, BROWN AND CHORUS

CHORUS — Listen! Listen! Listen! Listen!
Listen! Listen! Listen! Who is coming? Listen!
Who is coming? Listen! Who is coming? Listen!
Who is coming? The royal messenger on horseback!

Listen! Who is coming? The royal messenger on
horseback!

B. — In honor of her Coronation, the Queen
commands that Captain Macheath shall be set free
at once, and he is also to be raised to the ranks of
the hereditary nobility, and be given the Castle
Marmarel, and a pension of ten thousand pounds
until the end of his life. And to the present bridal
pair the Queen sends her royal wishes for happiness.

M.— Saved! Saved! I knew it would come! When
the troubles are at their worst, rescue is nearest,
when the troubles are at their worst, rescue is
nearest.

POLLY — Saved! Saved! My beloved Macheath
is saved! I am so happy!

MRS. P. — So it all has a happy ending. How
lovely and peaceful life would be, if the royal mes-
senger on horseback would always arrive.

MR. P. — And so everybody stand fast in your
place, and sing the hymn of the poorest of the poor,
whose bitter life you have had shown to you today.
For in the real world, they come to a bad end. The
royal messengers on horseback come very seldom.
And those who are stepped on, step on others. And
so, people should not be too eager to persecute
sinners.

The present recording offers a classic performance
of the complete musical score, sung in the original
German, and treating the work as a major creation
of the 20th century musical stage. Featured as Polly
is Liane, the sultry-voiced chanteuse of Vienna’s night
life. Helge Roswaenge, Rosette Anday and Alfred
Jerger are noted singers idolized for years by the
Vienna opera public. Also featured singers with the
Vienna State Opera are Kurt Preger, Hedy Fassler,
Anny Felbermayer and the American-born Freder-
ick Guthrie. F. Charles Alder was born in London
and musically educated in Germany. He was an assist-
ant to the great conductor Felix Mottl, became Direc-
tor of the Duesseldorf Opera, was saturated in the
atmosphere of the Germany of the 1920’s which in-
spired the Three Penny Opera and conducted some of
its early performances, was for nine years conductor
of the Berlin State Radio, doing symphonic works and
at least one opera a week, until the coming of Hitler.

Translations Copyright by Vanguard Recording Soc. Inc.

VANGUARD RECORDING SOC. INC., N.Y., N.Y.
PRINTED IN U.S.A. .